Could you put a ruler next to it and post another picture ? Preferably metric if you have access to one

I'd say it can be printed, and it may be strong enough to be usable depending on the size of it.

I'm interested in giving it a go if you're not especially hurried, I just love the idea of repairing stuff instead of buying a new one and throwing away a nearly working object. Using a 3D printer in the process is a bonus

Edit : ah, www rocks, found some images. Is this the part the wheel is pushed into on image 13 here : [www.ikeafans.com] ?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2012 07:11AM by DeuxVis.

Most of my technical comments should be correct, but is THIS one ?
Anyway, as a rule of thumb, always double check what people write.

Attached find pictures from the top and the bottom. You'll also see the broken piece.

My location is Berlin, Germany.

DeuxVis: I'm not skilled at producing 3D models, so if I could send you the parts, that'd be great. I'd send you both the correct one and the broken (and the first you should obviously send me back if you're successful).

Would be great if that'd work. I think shipping to France and back shouldn't cost that much. Send me your contact details via PM.

I'm reposting our private conversation about the holes in the plastic part as it might be interesting for others, too.

------------------------------------

Thanks for the reply, that's what I suspected for all those unused holes.

And yes, that's a good idea to share the discussion, you can repost that in the thread if you wish.

--
Guy

hanno Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DeuxVis Wrote:
> > Can you help me tell which holes of the parts
> are
> > actually used ?
> > It looks like some of the holes are useless and
> > only an artefact of the production process,
> > especially the tiny ones.
> > You can maybe use your photos to let me know
> me,
> > editing those to add some comments.
> > It would make the design simpler and the parts
> > stronger to forget about the holes that are not
> > needed.
>
> Yep, only one of them is really used to finally
> hold the wheel. Especially: The hole in the broken
> part is not used at all.
>
> I've attached a photo that marks the neccessary
> and unneccessary ones:
> [files.hboeck.de]
>
> (P.S.: maybe we should continue such discussions
> in the public forum thread? There may be others
> that are interested)

Have done a first version, will send you a PM about mailing it back to you.

Pictures - the second one is blurry, sorry, it was moving as it was taken during print, to show the "real tiny holes that actually turns into plastic pillars for internal reinforcement", in the left cylinder. I believe it won't crack at the same place as the original.

Most of my technical comments should be correct, but is THIS one ?
Anyway, as a rule of thumb, always double check what people write.

1) Try to use that reinforced PLA plastic I bought from Vik Olliver some time ago, it has additives supposed to make it stronger.

2) Try to print the part on its side. The breaking was probably helped by layers separation, so making the layers perpendicular to the forces would certainly help. It will require support for printing then, due to overhangs.

3) I could try to make another one in ABS (like the first blue one was) and dip it quickly into acetone, then let it dry before use. I know people does this to make parts much stronger. It's another way to reinforce layer adhesion, as acetone melt the plastic surface and then evaporate.

Most of my technical comments should be correct, but is THIS one ?
Anyway, as a rule of thumb, always double check what people write.

All were printed on their sides (rotated 90° around their longer dimension), so that the layers of deposited plastic are avoiding the part from breaking (it's much more easier to separate the layers than to break across them).

I had to use support to print the parts in that orientation, and it proved difficult with ABS (the grey plastic here) to get the support to stick to the bed, so 2 of the parts (in the background) have warped too much and will probably not be accurate enough. You can see the support remains (horizontal lines) that might have to be sanded for the part to fit.

The center shiny grey one on the picture have been dipped a couple of seconds in acetone, to better fuse the ABS layers together. Hopefully it will add to its strength.

The black one is High Impact PLA from Vik Olliver (diamond age), it's a PLA with additives making it harder. Being PLA it did not warp as much as ABS and was easier to print with support.
Note to people wanting to use that HIPLA : it need slower print speeds, and a fan blowing on the print, as it cool down slower than usual PLAs. It also tend to leave bits of itself in the hotend, which are getting very hard after some time spent heated in there. Get sure to purge your hotend with another classic PLA immediately after your print.

'nuf words, here's the picture :

Hanno, I will post those today or tomorrow.

Most of my technical comments should be correct, but is THIS one ?
Anyway, as a rule of thumb, always double check what people write.

Got the parts yesterday.
I used the black one now, it's fits a bit less good than the first (blue) one. The hole seems to be a little bit too big and the wheel falls out if I lift the wardrobe.
Nothing serious, it doesn't affect the everyday use of the wardrobe, just transporting it is a bit more problematic.

However, as you can see on the picture it's a bit skewed, so I think it may break soon. I'll use the black one for now and if it (or one of the others) break I'll test the grey ones.

DeuxVis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Seeing your picture makes me think the next move
> would be to redesign the part so that the wheel
> axis is aligned with the tube - avoiding overhang
> and flexing.

This might work, but maybe that'd be the point to say it's not worth any more as the effort exceeds the value of the whole wardrobe.

But anyway: it "worksforme" now and as you've send me a number of replacement parts, even if it breaks again I have replacements for some time now :-) I'll keep you updated if anything happens.

For two years I used all the pieces DeuxVis sent me and all of them cracked sooner or later. Recently I had used up all of them and contacted him again.

Instead of re-printing the same object we now decided to redesign it. With this new variant the rod of the wheel directly goes into the wardrobe. I think it is unlikely that this variant will ever crack, I don't see how it could.